UNFPA and GBCHealth are collaborating on a private sector roundtable the morning of June 4th, in Brussels, as a precursor to the European Development Days (EDDs) to follow. This session, entitled ‘Girls First: Leveraging Public Private Partnerships for Girl’s Health & Safety, will seek to highlight African-focused, action-oriented solutions and opportunities for public-private partnerships that focus on girls’ health, safety and economic empowerment.
The private sector roundtable is but one of several sessions that will comprise the UNFPA-hosted high level dialogue on ‘Strengthening the Africa-Europe Partnership to implement the African Union Roadmap on Demographic Dividend. This full day, Africa-focused event will take place on at the Palais d’Egmont in Brussels. The day’s agenda will also include a youth forum, Parliamentarian and Ministerial Dialogue, a tribute to the late Dr Babatunde Osotimehin and Summit of Heads of state, followed by an evening reception.
For many observers, Africa is “the continent of the future” given the dynamics and the youthfulness of its population. Africa’s population is expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050. More than 60% of Africans are under the age of 25. In order to ensure this demographic change is a positive one, governments must embark on institutional reforms and invest in health, education, empowerment of women and youth through job creation and promoting gender equality.
This high-level dialogue is by invitation only with limited space capacity. If you’re interested in attending this leadership event, please contact Alyssa Govindan at agovindan@gbchealth.org
EDDs is the main European Development Forum organized annually by the European Commission. This year’s theme is “Women and Girls at the Forefront of Sustainable Development: Protect, Empower and Invest”.